Happy New Year!
Tomorrow I will sit down and write out my personal resolutions for the New Year on a piece of paper, but today I thought I’d have a little fun and blog my wish list of New Year’s resolutions for all the brides out there who are planning their weddings right now. All the other wedding planners out there who benefit from these can email me thank you notes later. 
Hola Mis Amigas!
This morning came a little too early for me here on the lovely island of Vieques. The alarm clock went off at the usual time, but I didn’t get to sleep until very, very late last night because there was a paranda at the house behind me. What is a paranda, you ask? (Or if you’re Puerto Rican, you’re probably asking who the heck told her to spell it like that?) A paranda, by my observation, is an impromptu party that takes place between the hours of 10 pm and 5 am when a caravan of vehicles shows up on somebody’s front lawn with instruments and begins to play festive music as loudly as possible. They sing and play as loudly and enthusiastically as they can in the front yard until the homeowner gives in and invites them in for food and drink. They go in and have a beer or some Coquito (Puerto Rican eggnog), and then they start playing again to entertain their hosts! After an hour or so, they move on to another victim… er, I mean another lucky house. When I was a tourist, I thought this was a charming holiday custom. Now that I live here, it’s not as cute. Especially at 3 am! Fortunately, they only have parandas between Christmas and Three King’s Day, and even then it’s not every night. But it got me thinking about today’s blog topic — how to choose the best kind of wedding music for your reception.
Good Morning Everybody!
I’m pretty sure there was a conspiracy to get me up and going bright and early this morning. First, the neighbor’s car alarm went off for no reason at 6 am. And then I’m pretty sure the trash men had a breakfast party in my driveway at 7 am. Of course, you never complain about the trash here because, during the holiday season, we’re just lucky they come at all! So here I am… and I’m still thinking about budgets today. So I wanted to offer everybody 10 very good suggestions for ways to keep your wedding budget under control from the very beginning of your planning process. Here we go!
Hi there!
It’s an absolutely gorgeous day in Vieques and I must get out to the beach for a few hours. But before I do, I wanted to tackle a subject that I know has most brides and grooms nervous about starting their wedding planning. How can you have the wedding of your dreams and pay for it without going into debt forever?
Hola!
Congratulations to everybody who has just gotten engaged!!! The holidays are a big time for new engagements and I know there are a lot of new brides-to-be out there reading this as they consider all their options for their weddings. Get married in Vieques or Culebra and leave the wedding planning stress to us! Okay, cheap ad finished, onward to the topic of the day — how should you go about choosing your bridesmaids, groomsmen, and everybody else that’s going to play a major role in the most important day of your life!
Hola Mis Novias y Mis Novios! Feliz Navidad!
It’s Christmas week and things are crazy on Vieques Island. The tourists started arriving in droves over the weekend and now there’s not a hotel room or rental car to be had anywhere. Meanwhile, the locals (like me) would like to hide in our houses until they’re all gone because simple daily tasks (the bank, the post office and grocery store) become half-day projects instead of quick errands. My mom is here visiting for a few days and I wish I didn’t have to work, but with four weddings in January, a real vacation right now is not an option. I’m meeting with a new client tomorrow morning and then I really am going to take the rest of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off, but on December 26th, it’s back to the grind. The chaos here inspired me to write a quick blog about choosing a holiday as your wedding date.
Good Morning!
Just a quick entry to try and redeem myself with those of you who think I never make time to blog anymore! I’ve got a bride and groom for next August arriving on the island in less than an hour for a planning trip, and their main goal is choosing a venue. I’ve been setting up back-to-back tours of villas, hotels and restaurants, so this seemed like an appropriate topic for today. How do you choose the best venue for your Caribbean destination wedding?
Hello Friends!
I have been terrible about blogging regularly after I made a promise to do it daily in December. I’m sorry. I’ve been very busy prepping for January weddings so that all my brides can have everything finished and ready to go before Christmas, and then relax over the holidays. I’ve also been trying to get Christmas presents wrapped, packaged and in the mail to my friends and family back home. The little bit of free time I thought I would have has been very busy talking to new couples who are just recently engaged and chomping at the bit to choose their destination wedding island and book their wedding dates. And that’s what we’re going to talk about today — holiday engagements!
Hola Mis Amigos!
It was another beautiful day in Vieques. Super sunny and breezy. And I was trapped in my house planning weddings and trying to keep my papers from blowing all over the place. December is a gorgeous month in Puerto Rico. We get brief rain showers here and there that keep things green, but most days are cool and breezy. Anyway, back to talking about what to do when you first start planning your wedding. So far this month, we’ve talked about picking your destination and your wedding date, and hiring a wedding planner. Now what’s next?
Hi there!
I know. I blew my resolution to write every day. I’m sorry! We were very, very busy with Nicole Morales and Dennis Baden’s wedding last weekend, and then on Monday we had a cargo ferry pass to the big island (they’re like gold around here) so we were busy shopping for things we need for the holidays and our January weddings. We got back this morning. So without further adieu, I owe you guys a review of the fabulous wedding last weekend. Dennis and Nicole were married at sunset on Saturday, December 6th, underneath a very pretty chuppah on a bluff overlooking the water. By now, they’re in Thailand on their honeymoon!
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